First Languages Australia meeting with Minister Ken Wyatt

First Languages Australia committee members met with Ken Wyatt, Minister for Indigenous Australians, in November, to discuss the need for national legislation to protect Australia’s first languages. It was an opportunity to reaffirm to the minister the critical situation that language centres are facing in light of the limited funding available, while highlighting the significant disparity between the amount of money allocated to Australia’s first languages and allocations for other non-English languages.

Minister Wyatt expressed his commitment to supporting First Languages Australia’s push for cross government operational engagement with first languages, which must include broad policy changes in Health, Education, Justice, Environment, Science and Tourism. First Languages Australia is also seeking a tenfold increase in the level of funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, bringing the funding level closer to the commitment of countries such as Canada and New Zealand.